


All the Memories That We Make Will Never Change

by HolleringHawk65



Series: Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: BUT HIS SON IS ALIVE, Bruce is probably OOC, Gen, There's mention of death but it's not bad, really it's just them talking, this is really just my take on Jason's death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 21:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15082265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolleringHawk65/pseuds/HolleringHawk65
Summary: Jason's always been worried about how his first meeting with Bruce would go, but at least it's Bruce coming to him for some answers.





	All the Memories That We Make Will Never Change

It had been such a long night that Jason’s incredibly thankful after he’s taken a shower and he feels warm and clean. Nervous too, but that’s a different story. His hair is pitch black except for the single tuft of white that he’d had to dye over that’s already showing through. Stupid undead hair.

He sits down on the big fluffy chair and waits, staring at the laptop. He wonders if he had calculated this all wrong and that somehow, for some reason, Bruce wouldn’t look into the man claiming to be his son. Was something major going on in Gotham? He’d tried to catch up on as much as possible by reading old newspapers and looking at news articles online, and based on the cyclical nature of Gotham’s crime, this should’ve been a good night. For fuck’s sake, it’s a Tuesday. Nothing important happens on Tuesdays.

He’s about to give up and just go sit in the tub for a very long time, in order to mull over his life choices, when an alarm goes off, alerting him to the fact that someone has just asked for his room number.

He gets up, runs a hand through his hair and waits by the door. As he waits there, he thinks about how that might be stupid because, if it’s Bruce, he could just barge in if he really wants to.

But then there’s a knock on the door and Jason knows that he wants to cry when he opens it and Bruce is standing there.

He lets Bruce come in before he launches himself at Bruce, almost forgetting that he’s packed on a lot more muscle as he hugs him. It takes a second for him to respond but after a moment, Jason feels those still familiar arms wrap around him.

“It really is you,” he hears Bruce say into neck. “I missed you so much.”

They’re both crying now and Jason doesn’t want to let go. He had been so worried that Bruce would hate him because he hadn’t been good enough to not die. He’d spent so much time trying to better himself before he even considered coming back to the east coast. It doesn’t feel like nothing has changed at all, but it still feels like home in Bruce’s arms, as if when Jason pulls away, he’ll be able to go to the kitchen and Alfred will be waiting for hot chocolate and cookies or some shit like that. Or Dick will come over and give him an awkward, one armed hug while holding a bowl of cereal or a piece of pizza in his free hand.

They finally pull away from each other, after sinking to the floor, and just stare for a moment. Bruce seems older, but there’s no surprise there, not with the Justice League and everything. He still looks good enough to be a playboy without being creepy, and Jason smiles at the thought.

“How… how are you?” Jason asks when he finds his voice.

Bruce reaches out and touches Jason’s hair. A strange look has settled in his eyes, one that Jason doesn’t feel comfortable enough to identify. “I’m overjoyed that you’re alive. Why didn’t you come home?”

Jason breaks eye contact, looks down at his hands. They’re covered in scars, just like the rest of him. Because he died.

He feels himself starting to panic, short breaths coming out too soon after each other. He'd thought that he'd gotten better at this--after he’d come back he couldn’t wrap his head around being alive when he remembered being dead, and there were a lot of panic attacks that came with the post-Lazarus Pit hazy mind.

“I wasn’t good enough, Bruce. I died. I couldn’t just come back without trying to be better than I had been before. I couldn’t have even come back right away, when I didn’t realize where I was half of the time. I can’t tell you how many times Talia had to explain to me what had happened.”

“What did happen, Jason?”

He knew that Bruce would want to know what happened. He just didn’t know if he could tell him it all without feeling ashamed. “I died in that warehouse in Ethiopia. The Joker had been torturing me while he waited for you to be on your way and that’s when he told me about the bomb and how it would go off before you got there. I couldn’t let him hurt you over and over again, so somehow I rallied the strength to fight back. Adrenaline, I guess. I don’t remember how it happened exactly, Talia told me that he was very dead though, and she’d do anything to make sure it stayed that way.”

Bruce reached out for one of his hands. “That was brave of you, Jason. I don’t condone killing, but in that scenario…” He drifted off, took a deep breath. “I’m glad that you were able to get that son of a bitch.”

Bruce didn’t usually curse like that, so Jason laughed. He knew that Bruce would have mixed feelings about it, but there wasn’t anything that he could do about it. He didn’t remember much of it anyway, like he said, and could only take Talia’s word for it.

“You keep mentioning Talia. She brought you back using the Pit?”

“Yeah. She never really told me why, but I always figured that I was the back up plan to Damian. Ra’s didn’t like me there or that she had brought me back at all, though, so she had to sneak me out one night. After that, I started traveling around on her dime before I started making my own money. Kind of followed your path, if I’m being honest.”

Bruce looks like he wanted to ask many questions after that, sitting in silence for a few moments. “I was so worried that you hated me.”

“Me, hate you? Bruce, I _love_ you; you gave me a new life, a purpose. The few years I spent with you were the best of my entire life. I thought that you were going to be disappointed in me for not being better.”

He pulled him into another hug. “Never. All of that was my fault, Jason. I put you into the line of fire, and I’ll never forgive myself for that. Right now though, can you just talk to me? I want to know everything.”

Jason nudged him. “I want to know too, Bruce. I’ve been gone for years, and in that time you build a League? And the new Robin--well, I guess he’s not so new now, but--Tim, right? He seems nice, for being a rich kid.”

They both chuckle at that before Bruce raises an eyebrow. “How do you know it’s Tim?”

He pretends that his nails are suddenly very interesting. “I hacked into the BatComputer. Uh, studied under this guy in Tokyo for a few months while I cleaned up a few drug operations.”

“So really, you know everything.” It’s not an accusation, but Bruce sounds amused enough.

“I know reports and charts, but nothing about what all these people are like as, you know, people. Sure, Clark Kent has a weakness for his human parents, but I don’t know what his favorite ice cream.”

“But you want to. And if Selina was right, you might want to find out a few other things about him.” Bruce nudges him and Jason is glad that they’re already slipping back into their grove.

Then Jason realizes what he said and blushes. “I knew that inviting Selina was a mistake, but I couldn’t help myself. And, well, who doesn’t want to get him more? He’s…”

“Clark?” Bruce supplies, a smug smile on his face. “He’s not in a relationship right now, you know.”

“I do know, thanks to your file on him.” It comes out before he can really stop it. Bruce just nods, does a little smile; he’s always been accepting of Jason’s sexuality, which has always been appreciated.

He’s still a little embarrassed that Jason can see right through him though, that it must be so obvious to everyone. He’s died though and figures that’s an excuse enough to not know how to flirt well or anything.

“Jason, why don’t you come home?”

Jason can tell that’s only one of the many, many questions Bruce wants to ask him, has been itching to ask him since he walked through the door. “I don’t know. I guess… I guess I just wanted a life away from Gotham.” _It killed me, Bruce. I’m not sure that I can ever go back._ “Metropolis seemed like a nice alternative, I mean, it’s a lot more sunny.” _Fewer wackjobs._

Bruce nods. “The manor is still your home to come back to.”

“Thank you.”

They spend the whole night talking, catching up on all the little things, everything between Gotham & League gossip to Dick’s passion for pizza. Jason is a little worried about confessing to all of the operations he’s done, mostly small time drug and human trafficking rings. He talks about why he wants to be in Metropolis; help these people, who aren’t getting help from the Wayne foundation. He wants to spread it to other major cities, but he’ll focus here first.

Jason finds himself drifting off against Bruce’s shoulder, an arm slung around his own shoulders. The last thing that he remembers before he falls asleep is that Bruce presses his lip into Jason’s hair before whispering “I’m proud of you, Jason.”


End file.
